Look what I found.....The Guesthouse Set! (and ME!)

Who would think I'd ever put this photo of me on the internet?  Well, I sure won't be mistaken for Tom Selleck!  One day the Art Director, Archie Bacon, and I were walking by the unprotected, uncovered Ferrari and I just happened to have my camera.  Like a couple of naughty kids, we took turns taking pictures of each other sitting in the car.  Yeah, I'm SO cool that I didn't even know how to open the door from the outside or the inside so I had to climb in and out!  This was the "driving " Ferrari.  They also had a "tow" Ferrari which they used behind a camera truck for when you saw Tom inside the car "driving"--which he wasn't.  Again, cutting back and forth between actual driving shots and sitting behind the wheel shots, it looks pretty good.  That's the soundstage behind me on the left.

On to the guesthouse photo--it turns out I did have one in my portfolio.  That means that when Indiana Jones comes over and we go on a quest in my attic to find the long buried photos, there could be more (?).  I know you all have seen this set more recently and more often than I have so pardon my first impression on seeing it for the first time in decades--what a dump!  It's much smaller than I remember and almost looks dirty with those walls.  Ok, please, no hate mail and death threats--it's just my first thougts after all these years.  You can see the make-up tables being stored inside the set since space was always a premium on that stage.  George Sumner was a personal friend of John Hillerman so that painting had to hang prominently over the fireplace.  It would not have been my choice since it photographed so dark on camera.  Basically the furniture was pretty much run of the mill sort of middle class Sears contemporary items.  I had forgotten there actually were windows on the camera left side of the set and the smaller one on the landing.  Normally a set would be lit for filming and then the lights taken down and used elsewhere.  As you can see, the basic lights were left up on the catwalk all the time because this was a permanent set.  The guesthouse set was fairly close to the side wall of the soundstage--the back wall maybe 6-8 feet away which made it difficult to have a higher ceiling since the roof sloped down at that point.  You can see the small ceiling sections over the entry door.

There was a door to the right of the TV set that really did lead into Tom's bedroom set.  There was also a small wall portion that could be used as part of the "4th wall" but was seldom seen.  I think that is my leadman Russ Maki standing on the set.  

Many have asked what happened to all the items.  I am amazed at how many of those items did survive the "great purge" when they tore down the old set dressing building a few years ago.  It's funny how when things are taken away from their original environment, they just become "stuff."  Like after my parents had died and we sold the family home, I brought things back to Hawaii that had been in that house for decades.  Somehow without the wall paper and windows and familiar surroundings, the things just weren't the same.  What few items that may or may not still exist in the new storage area,  are the property of the State of Hawaii Film Office and would not be for sale--so don't ask!   I'll be the one getting in trouble for even mentioning it!

I found a few other surprises--even a "funny" Christmas story (and photos) about an explosion we did that accidentally  blew out the windows out of a house and sent their Christmas tree flying across their living room.  Have to wait for Christmas for that one!  Again, thanks for all your encouragement and comments.  (don't stop now!)